Car Free Vancouver Day June 19

Today was the first car free day commercial drive of 2011 and it was soooo much better than ever! I say this because for the first time since I can remember, I was able to walk around freely without leaning on or bumping into or accidentally stepping on other people. This made all the difference as my group was able to enjoy the great music, take in the smokey smells and take time to read into who and why people were there.
When you first enter the car free zone, you are instantly bombarded with smells, sounds and sights. This is what you came for. @ the Libra room, there were the smooth sounds of the blues wailing from guitars, saxophones, and drums, smells of salted sardine san
dwiches being bbq'd and and the sights of hundreds of smiling faces as we all were there for the party! I personally love music (don't we all!) and there was no better place to get some. All of the musicians were in cheerful mood as they sang and played their instruments. There is something about playing for free and to a varied audience that brings out the uniqueness of each musician. For example, there was a gypsy band playing and you could feel their music in the street as they had people dancing all around them. There was also a small group of latin dancers who performed their sensual moves to us and then there was that brave young lady who without the aid of her own music but using the sounds of the festival, tap danced for us all! It was great!
We then made it to the Safe Amp Stage! There was a great info booth, great bands, and a really smokey sardine smell hovering all around us. We were fortunate enough to see Stefana Fratila http://www.myspace.com/stefanafratila 
 Her music is unique, quirky, classy and a little eerie which is perfect for me since I love to hear the artist have a voice in their music. To be able to tell you a story without giving you only one ending. Her music is like a book where you follow the antagonist blindly, honestly without consequence to how it will all end. That made no sense, sorry!

Next was just taking in all the propaganda tents, all the other great music, and good smells. After this I went to the Library!

Savetheyuppies

The drive

Libra room

bikes on the drive

traveling gypsies

politics

 

stefana fratila

Overall, I am excited for the upcoming car free festivals!